Wanted: Scarier Intelligence  —  The last thing this country needs as it heads into this election season is another attempt to push the intelligence agencies to hype their conclusions about the threat from a Middle Eastern state.  —  That's what happened in 2002, when the administration engineered …

FDA Approves Over-the-Counter Access for Plan B for Women 18 and Older Prescription Remains Required for Those 17 and Under  —  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced approval of Plan B, a contraceptive drug, as an over-the-counter (OTC) option for women aged 18 and older.

New Orleans Mayor Takes Swipe At NYC  —  Nagin Cites Failure To Rebuild Ground Zero While Defending Katrina Clean-Up  —  (CBS) Confronted by accusations that he's taking too long to clean up his city after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin defended himself by remarking on New York City's failure to rebuild Ground Zero.

Hezbollah Didn't Win  —  Arab writers are beginning to lift the veil on what really happened in Lebanon.  —  The way much of the Western media tells the story, Hezbollah won a great victory against Israel and the U.S., healed the Sunni-Shiite rift, and boosted the Iranian mullahs' claim to leadership of the Muslim world.

New Yorker Arrested for Providing Hezbollah TV Channel  —  A New York man was arrested yesterday on charges that he conspired to support a terrorist group by providing U.S. residents with access to Hezbollah's satellite channel, al-Manar.  —  Javed Iqbal runs HDTV Corp. …

GOP Senate challenger McGavick reveals drunken driving incident  —  OLYMPIA, Wash. — Republican U.S. Senate challenger Mike McGavick, in a remarkable confession of what he called his personal and political shortcomings, on Thursday revealed a drunken driving incident and discussed his divorce …

Iran nuclear response leak reveals demands  —  The US would have to lift decades-old sanctions against Iran and probably give assurances that it has no policy of regime change towards the Islamic republic to settle Iran's nuclear dispute with the west, according to leaks of the Iranian response.

Files From Duke Rape Case Give Details but No Answers  —  DURHAM, N.C. — On March 21, a week after an African-American woman charged that she had been raped by three white Duke University lacrosse players, the police sergeant supervising the investigation met with the sexual-assault nurse …

Rep. Schmidt's marathon ad questioned  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio - Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt is fast, capable of running a marathon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, 6 seconds.  —  At least that's what a photo on the Ohio congresswoman's Web site shows.  —  No way, says a rival who contends that the picture …

Pamela Bone: Muslim sisters need our help  —  If she is dubbed right-wing for expressing solidarity with women in Islamic countries, the author doesn't mind wearing the label  —  IN Tehran in June, several thousand people held a peaceful demonstration calling for legal changes that would give …

Sadr's Militia and the Slaughter in the Streets  —  'We Don't Need a Verdict,' One Commander Says  —  BAGHDAD — In a grungy restaurant with plastic tables in central Baghdad, the young Mahdi Army commander was staring earnestly.  His beard was closely cropped around his jaw, his face otherwise cleanshaven.

France Sets Big Force for Lebanon  —  2,000 to Serve As Peacekeepers; 'Clarifications' Set  —  French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France would commit 2,000 troops to a new international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.  The decision breaks a stalemate that has held …

Inquiry Opened Into Israeli Use of U.S. Bombs  —  The State Department is investigating whether Israel's use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that restrict when it can employ such weapons, two officials said.

Kentucky Governor Signs Plea Deal  —  Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky, who was indicted in May in connection with a hiring scandal, signed an agreement yesterday admitting wrongdoing by his administration and promising to reconstitute the state's Personnel Board.

Steele gaining blacks' support  —  The Maryland Democratic Party's traditional support among blacks appears to be slipping, now that hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons — who has helped register thousands of Democratic voters — has endorsed Republican Michael S. Steele for the U.S. Senate.

Firing Squad Looms for the Dem Party Oligarchy  —  Question: Are bloggers too powerful?  —  Answer: Do I think they're important?  Yes.  Do I think the [bloggers] and Al Sharpton alone are the future of the Democratic Party?  No!  Welcome in, contribute, but it's about winning in November …

Club Mad  —  The governor of Alaska, Frank Murkowski, came in 3rd in the Republican primary on Tuesday, and although it has widely been interpreted as a revolt over local issues, there can be no doubt that it sent a chill down the spines of DC incumbents, particularly the Senate majority.

Ann Coulter gets her freak on  —  Whenever Ann is faced with the reality that Osama hasn't been caught yet by this administration-well-Poor Ann.  Kirsten Powers actually responds to Coulter's ridiculous line that Afghanistan is going swimmingly and brings up the fact that Osama is still alive and well.

Dangerous Curve  —  Arthur Laffer, on the opinion page of today's Wall Street Journal (hat tip to Dave Altig), writes: … It appears that, all these years that I've been studying the Phillips curve, I've been under a wrong impression about what the Phillips curve was.

HOWARD DEAN CRITICIZES GEORGE ALLEN, HIMSELF  —  On yesterday's Hardball, Democratic Chairman Howard Dean insulted Senator George Allen, saying he doesn't "think [Allen] belongs in public service."  The voters of Virginia have disagreed with Howard Dean every time George Allen has run for office …

Iraq: Media Manufactured Perception  —  The experts on how things are going in Iraq are not former State Department officials, former CIA officials who may never have set foot in the country.  —  The experts are not Senators who have taken junkets or the various other bloviators who populate the green rooms of cable news outlets.